REFERENCE
ELSTEROnline – Succesful realization of the demands made
on e-government portals
Demands made on e-government portals
In a number of different ways the ELSTER project has played a
pioneering role in the provision of public sector transaction portals.
This is due to the fact that the demands made on such public portals
with regard to legally binding dialogues between citizens and / or
companies and government organizations exceed the demands made
on commercial portals in many ways.
Key aspects include:
 Data security as defined by the Federal Data Protection Act and the
Federal Office for IT Safety
This reference has been officially confirmed by the Bayerisches Landesamt für Steuern.
 Safety standards dictated by mandatory utilization
 Accessibility and absence of barriers in connection with a wide range
of different technical preconditions
 High availability combined with short response times, also in
connection with high loads
 Durability and long service life of technologies employed.
“In the implementation of ELSTER we opted for a lean project approach with
controllable implementation steps. In small teams our experts for fiscal and
taxation matters cooperate directly with the technical experts,” as Roland
Krebs, ELSTER project manager at BLfSt outlines the project's success factors.
“In this way, demands and requirements are understood correctly right from
the very outset. Consequently, we are able to realize the demanded
functionalities in every release and on time.“
Responsibility of mgm technology partners
Within the context of the ELSTER project, mgm technology partners are
responsible for the design, the implementation and the technical quality
assurance of the portal. In three annual releases the ELSTEROnline services
and the basic tax related procedures are expanded step by step.
“In the implementation of ELSTER
we opted for a lean project
approach with controllable
implementation steps. In small
teams our experts for fiscal and
taxation matters cooperate
directly with the technical
experts.“
Roland Krebs,
ELSTER project manager at BLfSt.
ELSTER (a German language
acronym for Electronic Tax Return,
ELektronische SteuerERklärung) is a
joint project involving the tax
administration authorities of the 16
Federal States and the Federal
Ministry of Finance enabling the
secure electronic transmission of
tax data. The Tax Authority of the
Federal State of Bavaria
(Bayerisches Landesamt für
Steuern, BLfSt) is acting as project
manager.
In this context, the ElsterOnline
portal was designed and implemented. As an Internet-based
services portal, it covers the
specialized, tax-related procedures
and services supported by the
ELSTER project. Since September
2005, taxpayers (companies, tax
consultants and private households), in addition to the ELSTER
form in use to date, can fill out
browser supported online forms
and transmit them to the tax
administration authorities.
Given the legislative requirements of the Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF) special demands are made on the
technical quality realized. In each release changeover, for example, the historical traceability of data processing
over a ten-year period must be guaranteed. Given the due submission dates mandated by law, the load carrying
capacity of ELSTER in operational modes is highly relevant. Especially around target and cutoff dates, short
response times and throughput capacities for very high user numbers must be guaranteed.
Performance and load stability in up to 15,000 parallel sessions
At its maximum capacity stage, the ELSTEROnline portal will be serving more than 30 million households and five
million companies. This entails tremendous access and processing loads, especially around the due dates for filing
tax returns. Consequently, load stability
has been ensured since the first release
by way of active performance
engineering. Scalability, performance and
stability of the portal software are
subject to constant monitoring, while
targeted tuning measures are also
supported.
In addition to securing scalability and the
verification of hardware sizing, it also
makes it possible to detect platform
errors at an early stage that would
otherwise only occur under extreme
secondary running conditions, or in
Figure 1
cluster operations.
A load test framework that mgm provided as freeware forms the foundation for these measurements. Thanks to
its flexible instrumentation, all aspects of high load operations with a J2EE-application can be tested and measured.
This reference has been officially confirmed by the Bayerisches Landesamt für Steuern.
During the course of what is typically a several hour test running session with up to 1,000 parallel test clients,
hundreds of parameters are continuously measured on the server and measured data are aggregated and
evaluated. The option of automated integration of function testing test classes, also for the load test, without
incurring further development input, reduces the necessary input in performing load testing. It is only necessary to
provide specific technical test classes once and changes in following releases require adjustments in one single
location only.
Results
Citizens are fully justified in demanding the prudent, cost efficient appropriation of public funds in large-scale
projects. Within the context of the government's e-government initiative, the ELSTER project delivers impressive
proof of the inherent potentials in such approaches.
The quality of the ELSTER project, providing citizens and companies with schedule services available 24/7, is based
on two key success factors: a pragmatic, benefits oriented approach and the committed interaction of experts
conversant with all the relevant fiscal and taxation related matters and know-how.
Could we catch your interest in our know-how?
Enter into dialogue with us then:
references@mgm-tp.com
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mgm technology partners gmbh
Frankfurter Ring 105a
80807 Munich
Phone +49 89 / 358 680-0
references@mgm-tp.com
www.mgm-tp.com